The weapons we supplied to the "rebels" in Libya not only made their way to Syria but were used in the jihadist attack on our consulate in Benghazi. It's prudent and wise for members of the intelligence panel to stop arming the jihadists in Syria. The jihadists in Syria (like their brothers in Libya) are linked to al Qaeda and have displayed unimaginable savagery and cannibalism.

Obama quickly moving to stifle this outbreak of common
sense in Washington. "Intelligence panels cut off aid to Syrian rebels
by restricting funds," by Julian Pecquet and Jeremy Herb for The Hill, July 9 (thanks to Jerk Chicken):

House and Senate Intelligence panel members have voted to
block President Obama from arming Syrian rebels, committee insiders told
The Hill. They did so by placing severe restrictions on funding.

Lawmakers made their decision last month for fear that the
administration plan would let weapons fall into the hands of terrorist
groups, such as the many linked to al Qaeda.

The exact nature of the restrictions is unknown because the
committees voted privately on the basis of classified information. What
is known is that the restrictions are sufficient to prevent the
administration from delivering arms as planned, according to a source
familiar with the actions.

The committee “voted to allow them to make some movement on this, but
it’s restricted,” said one Senate panel insider, who declined to
elaborate on the total aid or the restrictions added by the Intelligence
panels, which both met again on Tuesday. “It was a very restrictive
amount.”

Administration officials stopped shy of saying that the efforts had
thwarted the effort to arm rebel groups, but said it certainly didn’t
make it easier.

“They’re raising a lot of questions without having alternative answers,” said one senior administration official.

“Whatever we do, we have to make sure we do it right,” Rep. Dutch
Ruppersberger (D-Md.), the ranking member of the House Intelligence
Committee, said Tuesday.

“If we are going to arm, we have to make sure we have control of what
arms are out there and how people are trained to use those arms so they
don’t fall into the hands of our enemy al Qaeda,” Ruppersberger said.

Ruppersberger would not discuss what actions his committee had taken, but said that they were providing oversight.

“We have funding oversight, and that’s part of the checks and balances,” he said.

The administration has pushed to sell its plan to lawmakers in
Congress, and Secretary of State John Kerry and Vice President Biden
both briefed the panels in June on the administration’s plans in
Syria....

White House press secretary Jay Carney did not discuss the reasons
behind the congressional delays over the aid on Tuesday, but said it was
coming nonetheless.

“In keeping with the president’s announcement of our stepped-up
assistance to the [Syrian opposition’s] Supreme Military Council, we are
going to consult with Congress on these matters, and we intend to
provide that stepped-up assistance,” Carney said at Tuesday’s White
House briefing. “We were not bluffing. The president was very serious,
as I think he made clear.”

Comments

Intelligence panels cut off aid to Syrian rebels, Obama says he will arm them anyway

The weapons we supplied to the "rebels" in Libya not only made their way to Syria but were used in the jihadist attack on our consulate in Benghazi. It's prudent and wise for members of the intelligence panel to stop arming the jihadists in Syria. The jihadists in Syria (like their brothers in Libya) are linked to al Qaeda and have displayed unimaginable savagery and cannibalism.

Obama quickly moving to stifle this outbreak of common
sense in Washington. "Intelligence panels cut off aid to Syrian rebels
by restricting funds," by Julian Pecquet and Jeremy Herb for The Hill, July 9 (thanks to Jerk Chicken):

House and Senate Intelligence panel members have voted to
block President Obama from arming Syrian rebels, committee insiders told
The Hill. They did so by placing severe restrictions on funding.

Lawmakers made their decision last month for fear that the
administration plan would let weapons fall into the hands of terrorist
groups, such as the many linked to al Qaeda.

The exact nature of the restrictions is unknown because the
committees voted privately on the basis of classified information. What
is known is that the restrictions are sufficient to prevent the
administration from delivering arms as planned, according to a source
familiar with the actions.

The committee “voted to allow them to make some movement on this, but
it’s restricted,” said one Senate panel insider, who declined to
elaborate on the total aid or the restrictions added by the Intelligence
panels, which both met again on Tuesday. “It was a very restrictive
amount.”

Administration officials stopped shy of saying that the efforts had
thwarted the effort to arm rebel groups, but said it certainly didn’t
make it easier.

“They’re raising a lot of questions without having alternative answers,” said one senior administration official.

“Whatever we do, we have to make sure we do it right,” Rep. Dutch
Ruppersberger (D-Md.), the ranking member of the House Intelligence
Committee, said Tuesday.

“If we are going to arm, we have to make sure we have control of what
arms are out there and how people are trained to use those arms so they
don’t fall into the hands of our enemy al Qaeda,” Ruppersberger said.

Ruppersberger would not discuss what actions his committee had taken, but said that they were providing oversight.

“We have funding oversight, and that’s part of the checks and balances,” he said.

The administration has pushed to sell its plan to lawmakers in
Congress, and Secretary of State John Kerry and Vice President Biden
both briefed the panels in June on the administration’s plans in
Syria....

White House press secretary Jay Carney did not discuss the reasons
behind the congressional delays over the aid on Tuesday, but said it was
coming nonetheless.

“In keeping with the president’s announcement of our stepped-up
assistance to the [Syrian opposition’s] Supreme Military Council, we are
going to consult with Congress on these matters, and we intend to
provide that stepped-up assistance,” Carney said at Tuesday’s White
House briefing. “We were not bluffing. The president was very serious,
as I think he made clear.”